May 15, 2017

Menlo Park Labs lands new biotech tenant after 'massive' building revamp Pacific Biosciences of California has signed a 10-year lease at a 180,000-square-foot newly revamped building in Menlo Park Labs, an office and R&D park geared toward life science and biotech companies. The building at 1305 O’Brien Drive was recently transformed by developer Tarlton Properties Inc. from an Office Max distribution facility into the new corporate headquarters for Pacific Biosciences, also known as PacBio. The biotechnology company is known for both developing and manufacturing systems for gene sequencing.

TARLTON PROPERTIES

“We are delighted with our new facility and we are happy to be a part of the Menlo Park Labs community,” Ben Gong, vice president of finance and treasurer at PacBio said in a statement Wednesday. “Tarlton worked closely with our team to ensure every aspect of the building met with our requirements.” Representatives from Menlo Park-based Tarlton Properties declined to disclose how much the revamp of the two-story building cost, but a press release Wednesday characterizes the projects as “massive.” In addition to the building’s new research labs, the structure also has manufacturing space, a two-story lobby, an outdoor amenities area and a conference center. "Tarlton is known for our fine craft work and attention to detail," Ron Krietmemeyer, Tarlton's COO, said in a release Wednesday. "We could not have done it without our exceptional architect and construction partners." The general contractor on the project was Sunnyvale-based Applied Construction Technology. Redwood City-based DES Architects + Engineers designed the building. Randy Scott and Kristoph Lodge of Newmark Cornish & Carey and Gregg Domanico and Mary Hines of Kidder Mathews were the brokers behind the deal. Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Real Estate Investors was the capital partner. Menlo Park Labs is a sprawling megacampus roughly following O’Brien Drive between University Avenue and Willow Road in Menlo Park. It’s home to more than 60 biotech, medical device and life sciences companies, including Personalis Inc., Adverum Biotechnologies and AccuraGen Inc. The office complex is split up into two major pieces, the biggest being a set of buildings known as Menlo Business Park, which abuts University Avenue. The 50-acre, 18-building complex with about 900,000 square feet of office and R&D space. The O’Brien Drive portfolio, which sits closer to Willow Road has about 150,000 square feet of office and R&D space. Menlo Park Mayor Kirsten Keith in a statement Wednesday praised Tarlton Properties for its work on Menlo Park Labs. “We appreciate your continued support of the community, for bringing so many jobs, for all your green initiatives, and for supporting great 21st century companies like PacBio,” she said. Janice Bitters primarily covers commercial real estate for the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Other topics she follows include residential real estate and economic development.